Motul and Ural – for the journey

Adventure seekers from across the globe look no further than Ural motorcycles – the world’s leading maker of sidecar bikes for over 75 years – when they want to take life to the limit. Motul has an excellent, specific range of products which operate in extreme conditions, and it has now entered in a multi-year agreement with Ural to become its Official Lubricant Partner to provide lubricants for their whole range.

Around the world with Ural
The name is well known to its specialist audience and it has a long and fascinating history and heritage, just as Motul does in fact!
The IMZ-Ural factory, first founded to provide motorcycles for military use, is based in Irbit in Russia (Irbitskiy Mototsikletniy Zavod = Irbit Motorcycle Factory). Temperatures of -40°C wind chill, rough Russian roads, and shifting snow drifts are ‘normal’ in this part of the world, just as temperatures of +40°C are in equatorial jungles or the sand dunes of South America, as seen on the Dakar Rally few years ago. Ural bikes and sidecars are made for such extremes. The manufacturer has just one plant, and produces 1,300 units per year of which 1,000 are exported to the USA – the only Russian motorcycle officially sold in the country.

Extreme Testing for Extreme Conditions
Motul products – including 100% mineral and synthetic engine and gearbox oils, transmission oil for final drive 1WD and 2WD and maintenance care – have been tested in the harshest of conditions.

Their use delivers the best performance, reliability and durability for the low-tech 745cc air-cooled engines and high load transmissions, and Motul will be recommended as Factory and Service fill. Ural owners can therefore set off with full confidence to discover the world.

Motul will also enter into a Marketing project with Ural to build a special custom-made motorcycle. The two companies have already worked together on the Motul ZIMKHANA show, held in Moscow last December. The best drifters in the country competed on a specially prepared track, and 2WD Ural motorcycles were tried by Motul riders from different moto-disciplines.

George Kurmachev, Commercial Director of IMZ-Ural: “We are pleased to work with Motul. Our air-cooled engines and 2WD transmissions are some of the most reliable in the game right now. Together with Motul’s products, our motorcycles will become true bulletproof vehicles for Off-Road use everywhere in the world.”

Anton Malyshev, Motul Head of Powersport: “We are pleased to reinforce our OEM portfolio with a true lifestyle brand, and it is great to have such an iconic brand as Ural become part of Powersport’s DNA for the benefit of many riders worldwide. Motul sees a future for the Powersport industry in exploring and travelling in extreme conditions across the world, and this is a key point for our two brands as we come together for the coming years.”